M1911 Pistol
The M1911 Pistol is the backup weapon of the Survivors in Left 4 Dead. It is also the only weapon they can use when knocked down, although with a slower rate of fire and greatly decreased accuracy. Besides the Minigun, the Pistol and Dual Pistols are the only weapons that have infinite ammunition. However, they are still limited to a magazine capacity of 15 rounds. Even though they are meant as emergency weapons, the Pistols make great secondaries, or even primaries for Hunting Rifle and Pump Shotgun/Auto Shotgun users because of their unlimited ammo, decent power, and above average accuracy. Second pistols for dual-wielding will usually spawn on the first level of each campaign. This occurs most frequently on Easy and Normal. However, on Advanced and Expert, they are often not available during the first level. The M1911 Pistol is succeeded by the P220 Pistol in Left 4 Dead 2. Dual-wielding holding a Pistol.]] If a second Pistol is found, they can be dual-wielded. Second Pistols are placed periodically by the Director, and can also be picked up from fallen teammates. This allows for twice the ammo capacity, as well as the rate of fire being increased from 300 RPM to 600 RPM. The downside of having two Pistols is that it takes slightly longer to reload, but the extra damage and rounds are worth it. When dual-wielded, the Pistol in the left hand will not have a light. Once a second Pistol is picked up, there is no way to go back to using a single Pistol without dying. This makes achieving "Akimbo Assassin" much easier, due to repeated mashing of the fire button causing a 600 RPM wave of bullets. Dual Pistols also carry over to the incapacitated status, making it easier to hold off Infected attacking a downed Survivor, yet making it longer to reload. Tactics dual-wielding Pistols.]] * Pistols can be quite effective. However, to be an effective Pistol user, you must be accurate; try to crouch when the situation permits, as it will tighten your cross-hairs and accuracy. * If the player's finger is fast enough, when doubled, the Pistol can be fired in rapid succession equal to that of an Assault Rifle. This is a fair tactic when it comes to mini-Hordes. * The Pistols have great accuracy, and a Pistol user must take advantage of this. When using a Pump Shotgun or auto shotgun, it is a good idea to use Pistols for distant targets, as shotguns are ineffective at long range. * When using the Hunting Rifle, it is advantageous to use Pistols while running, as the Hunting Rifle is not as good while running. * In certain situations, switching to Pistols may be a better option than spending time reloading. * If a distant teammate is disabled by a Hunter or a Smoker and your magazine is empty, draw your Pistols and open fire. This will probably kill the Special Infected faster than if you were to reload, reducing the damage taken by your teammate. * Pistols have unlimited ammo, so switching to them will conserve your primary ammo for more dangerous situations, such as a Horde. * The faster you click the mouse/press the trigger to fire, the faster the Pistol fires. However, it is not automatic, so holding the button down does nothing. * Try to keep your Pistols fully loaded even when you're not using them, as they are your only resort if you are incapacitated. Achievements Behind the Scenes Originally, the Pistols had limited ammo.http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/File:Pistolb_1.pngIt appears that you were able to hold 260+ maximum rounds in addition to the rounds loaded in them. This was scrapped and replaced with infinite ammo. At one time, when dual-wielding Pistols, both Pistols had a flashlight on them. This can be seen on the Intro Scene, where both of Zoey's pistols have flashlights attached. Notes * The Pistol is based on the M1911A1. * Contrary to real life, the M1911A1 in game has 15 rounds of ammunition per magazine (not doubled). In fact, the basic 1911 model carries only seven rounds per mag. However, "double-stacked" expansion magazines can be purchased from companies such as wikipedia:Strayer Voigt Inc with a capacity of 14 rounds. * The Pistol is produced by the fictional company "Finleyville Armory". The name is derived from the Pennsylvania borough of Finleyville and may be meant to sound like Springfield Armory, a manufacturer of many popular M1911 models. * A single stack M1911 (which is what the in game model is based on) uses 7 - 9 round magazines based on the caliber it uses. M1911s with higher capacities are built with wider frames to accommodate the increased width of the double stack magazines. * The set-up of the M1911 in Left 4 Dead is somewhat odd: it uses stainless steel components and a fairly modern frame, with a beavertail grip safety, extended thumb safety, rounded hammer and integral light rail, but has M1911A1 style sights. The original M1911A1 stock sights are much harder to use than modern three dot sights at night when most of the game takes place. * Although when wielding dual Pistols in-game the left-hand Pistol does not have a flashlight attached, in the opening cutscene, both of Zoey's pistols have flashlights attached. * Reloading your single Pistol immediately prior to picking up a second one results in the otherwise unused "empty" reload for the dual pistols being played when the second Pistol is picked up. ** Similarly, turning on sv_infinite_ammo in the console then pressing reload before picking up a second Pistol makes the full animation play. * If a Survivor dies, they drop a Pistol with a flashlight attached. If a Survivor only has a single Pistol and picks this up, the second Pistol still doesn't have a flashlight. * The Pistols, as well as the Submachine Gun, are the only firearms in the game that cannot sever limbs or explode Infected heads. * Even though the Pistol is incapable of doing so, during the opening scene in Left 4 Dead, Zoey shoots an Infected's head off while covering Francis and Bill from the fire escape. * The HUD icon does not show the flashlight attached to the gun. * Both Pistols have no firing pins, which are essential to their operation in real life. * With the exception of the Minigun, the M1911 Pistol is the only weapon to not re-appear in Left 4 Dead 2, as it was replaced with the P220 Pistol. * The slide on the pistols never lock back, meaning that there's at least one round in the chamber at all times. * The M1911 is a fairly common gun to find today, since the 1994 normal capacity ban (banning magazines with a capacity over 10 rounds for civilian use, which expired in 2004) brought back a demand for large bore single stack pistols and revolvers. * In real life, flashlights can't be attached to normal M1911 guns unless the frame was designed with an integrated picatinny or weaver style rail built into it. * The world model of the Pistol shows the hammer in the resting, non cocked position which would not allow the pistol to fire, while the player model shows it in cocked position, since the 1911A1 series is a single action only type of pistol,but the player always cocks back the hammer when taking them out. * The Pistol is only capable of firing once every 33 milliseconds therefore the rate of fire shown on this page is inaccurate (this was tested with an auto clicker, any clicks more frequent than once every 33 milliseconds resulted in those clicks being ignored). The correct rate of fire is 180 for a single pistol and 360 for dual-wielding. Video References Gallery 500px-Left4dead1911a1.jpg